Electrical storage batteries, particularly those used in vehicles, are supported in a tray which is secured by fasteners to the frame of the vehicle. The battery is secured on the frame by brackets, tie-bars and fasteners. A heat shield is often installed over the battery to provide thermal protection from the environment in the engine compartment of the vehicle.
During installation in a vehicle, the tray is secured to the frame by fasteners which require the use of tools. The battery is then placed in the tray and secured thereto by various structures such as holddown brackets. These structures also require fasteners and tools for the assembly. Often, the tools used for the frame attachment and the battery holddown attachment are not the same or the battery is installed at a different point during the assembly thereby requiring a larger inventory of tools.
The heat shield can be attached to the battery prior to installation or at a later time. If the heat shield is attached later, more tool and fasteners are required. The complete subsystem comprised of the tray, the battery, the heat shield and brackets can consist of four or more components and the use of two or more fasteners. The installation process is time consuming and, depending on the battery location in the engine compartment, can be very awkward.